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Time+Tide
There's so many horological goodies on show at this year's edition of Geneva Watch Days. Here's the vibe from on the ground.The post Hot, hectic, humid, horological: we’re on the ground for Geneva Watch Days 2025! appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
The world of Swiss watchmaking is a small one; everyone seems to know everyone. This is especially true among the exclusive ranks of enamellers. In total, there are about 120 practicing enamellers in Switzerland, largely concentrated in Geneva, which has been a leading hub for fine enamelling for more the 400 years. Of these, four artisans have recently taken up residence at Émailleurs de la Cité (EC) in Geneva’s Old Town. A newly established enamel workshop founded by Rexhep Rexhepi of Akrivia and Florent Olivier Martin, EC crafts a small number of grand feu enamel dials annually for Mr Rexhepi’s own watches and for select clients like Biver. Though recently opened, the workshop has the feel of a mature and highly organised operation, benefiting from the obvious experience of the staff – Mr Martin was formerly the production director at the respected dial specialist Olivier Vaucher – and the attention to detail for which Mr Rexhepi is known. The enamel workshop is a fitting addition to his growing empire, and is conveniently located just steps away from Akrivia’s watchmaking atelier on Grand-Rue, the picturesque cobblestone thoroughfare that runs through the Old Town. The hand-engraved gratté pattern is applied personally by Mr Rexhepi. The art of enamel Brands like Patek Philippe consider enamel a “rare handcraft”, and for good reason. While industrial groups like the Swatch Group seem to have largely mastered the production of quality enamel dials at (v...
Teddy Baldassarre
How well do you know your luxury watch brands? The timepiece industry is populated by many dozens of companies - a handful of them still independent, many others now members of a larger luxury-goods conglomerate - each with its own unique origin story, historical highlights, and technical and aesthetic brand DNA. Here we've gathered what we consider the 60 watch brands that should be on the radar of watch enthusiasts and given you a brief rundown of what makes each one special. In the interest of being informative (and transparent), we've divided them into sections: brands owned by the two major Swiss luxury groups (Swatch and Richemont), brands within the French LVMH Group, Japanese Citizen Group, and the small Swiss concern Sowind; the largest, best-known independent companies, and the leading brands among the rest of the independents. We've even added a little tidbit of trivia for each brand. TOP LUXURY WATCH BRANDS: SWATCH GROUP BLANCPAIN Blancpain was founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, making it one of the oldest watch brands in existence - one of the few, in fact, that can say it’s been making watches longer than the United States has been a country. The maison offers a plethora of small and high complications in its extensive and elegant Villeret collection, named for the Swiss village where it originated before moving to the Vallee de Joux in 1983, including a so-called “complete” calendar, a signature complication but these days Blancpain ...
Time+Tide
From Geneva to London: 2025's impressive run of watch auctions continues, with Watches of Knightsbridge offering up some heat.The post Vintage stunners, quartz oddities, and a highly unusual Cartier to hit Watches of Knightsbridge auction block appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Doxa added a GMT to their collection for the first time in years to much fanfare recently (we covered it here). This watch got quite a bit of press and stirred considerable interest within the enthusiast community, but to my mind it was only the second best watch the brand showed us when we met with them in Geneva last month (that’s second out of two, just to be clear). I’m not sure what it is, exactly, but I’m a little over the whole “put a GMT on it” approach to product development that the industry has been stuck in for the last few years. Do we really need the ability to track two or more time zones on every watch? And should we really be doing it with movements that perform this function almost by accident and are nearly impossible to use correctly if you’re actually traveling? I’m trying not to be a hater, really I am, but every time I see a new GMT equipped watch that’s just a riff on an existing diver or chronograph, as if a GMT complication is just an extra side on a barbecue platter, I ask myself what it is that we’re doing here, really. A new version of the Doxa SUB 200 was the other watch Doxa was showing in Geneva last month, although it was embargoed until last week, so I couldn’t come out of that meeting with the blistering hot take that it actually makes a lot more sense as a watch than the SUB 250T GMT, which to me feels like something ChatGPT might invent if you asked it to think of Doxa watches that don’t yet exist. This SUB 200 i...
SJX Watches
Despite everything, including tariffs and a strong Swiss franc, the Geneva auction season turned out to be a strong one, with some of the strongest results being in the most surprising segments. The bigger winner this season was Phillips, which sold a bit under 200 lots for CHF43.4 million including fees, while also claiming the most valuable lots for the season, reflecting Phillips’ strong leadership and team. Despite being the market leader by some margin, the Phillips catalogue was arguably the riskiest as it included several high-value pocket watches and clocks – timepieces that not part of mainstream collecting today. Yet the gamble paid off with the most valuable timepiece this season being its Breguet Sympathique no. 1 that sold for CHF5.51 million. Christie’s achieved CHF21.2 million with a similar number of lots that were arguably more conventional in taste and format than at Phillips. One of its most valuable lots was a Cartier Crash “NSO” with a special order dial that sold for CHF736,000 – one of the biggest surprises of the season but proof that being eye-catching enough for social media is a big factor in desirability and value today. Interestingly, the Crash sold for exactly the same as the Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari. The Crash went for about 15 times the original retail, while the RM UP-01 was about half of retail. The Crash NSO “nickele” grey. Image – Christie’s Over at Antiquorum, the tally was CHF10 million – from almost 800 lot...
Time+Tide
There's so many auctions gearing up to take place in Geneva right now and they're all chock-full of amazing watches - here's the best ones.The post The Time+Tide Team picks their favourite lots from Geneva’s stacked 2025 watch auction season appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
This spring, one of the most important horological creations of the late twentieth century returns to public view. As part of The Geneva Watch Auction: XXI taking place on May 10 and 11, Phillips will offer the Breguet Sympathique No. 1, the first of twenty exceptional clocks commissioned by Breguet in the early 1990s. The primary creator of this landmark clock was none other than Francois-Paul Journe, then a young watchmaker. Completed in 1991 for the Art of Breguet auction, No. 1 is not just the prototype of the modern Sympathique series, it is its most ambitious. The example, paired with a tourbillon wristwatch, is equipped with a constant-force remontoir and moonphase display. In retrospect, it reads as a mechanical manifesto, foreshadowing Journe’s later independent work. More than a highlight of its upcoming sale, No. 1 represents a rare continuation of one of watchmaking’s great inventions, a direct link to Abraham-Louis Breguet himself. Detail of Sympathique no. 1 Of Breguet’s many breakthroughs, from the tourbillon to the pare-chute, none captured the marriage of mechanical brilliance and poetic vision quite like the Pendule Sympathique. Designed to wind, set, and regulate a paired watch automatically, it embodied a new kind of horological harmony: a master timekeeper caring for its portable counterpart. The calendar on Sympathique no. 1 By the late 20th century, these clocks had become near-mythical. Only a handful were ever built, most housed in royal coll...
SJX Watches
It’s hard to stand out among the 194-lots in Phillips’ incredibly stacked upcoming Geneva auction. The catalog for The Geneva Watch Auction: XXI includes 36 watches from Patek Philippe, including familiar favorites like two ref. 5004s and an assortment of Nautilus and Aquanaut models. But three watches are especially notable. These highlights are led by the only known ref. 3448 “Padellone” perpetual calendar in pink gold – a retailer-signed example at that – followed by a landmark “grand” complication with Hagmann case, and a Beyer-signed pocket watch with a portal to Amsterdam on the back. The auction takes place on May 10 and 11, 2025, at the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva. Lot 74: Patek Philippe ref. 3448 in pink gold signed “Freccero” Patek Philippe’s first self-winding perpetual calendar, the ref. 3448, was primarily made in yellow or white gold – except for this example in pink gold. Besides the unique case material, this also has a retailer-signed dial. In addition, it’s in incredible condition, with unpolished lugs so sharp you could almost cut yourself. It features an early “second series” dial, with a “dimple” style minute track and engraved, enamelled markings. Even though the movement inside the ref. 3448 is one of the most beautiful automatics ever made, the cal. 27-460 doesn’t skate by on pretty privilege. The calibre is technically competent: with a free-sprung gyro-max balance, overcoil hairspring, and Patek Philippe’...
SJX Watches
After voyages through the cultures of Europe, China, and Japan, Louis Vuitton sets course beyond the terrestrial realm. The Tambour Taiko Galactique is a minute repeater with automata depicting an astronaut on the Moon. With its newest creation, Louis Vuitton once again marries artisanal decoration with high-end mechanics – all accomplished in-house at its manufacture in Geneva, La Fabrique du Temps (LFT). Initial thoughts For several years now, Louis Vuitton has endeavoured to preserve and perpetuate traditional watchmaking and related crafts. From the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives to its collaborations with independent watchmakers, and the massive, nine-figure investment in its Geneva manufactures and the vertical integration of metiers d’art, Louis Vuitton is a large luxury brand, the world’s biggest in fact, but still remains in touch with artisanal horology. The latest launch from the French marque is a minute repeater that defies traditional dogma. With the Galactique, Louis Vuitton pays tribute to both the space age and classic watchmaking by dressing an otherwise traditional complication in a space-themed attire. It is literally a “Moonwatch”, but of another type. The lunar-centric watch is appealing, a little whimsical, and well-executed, with consistent design choices unifying the case and dial. The only decidedly classic element is the movement that is visible through the case back. An artful dial The centrepiece of the Gala...
Time+Tide
We've seen what all the big box brands had to show, but what about the indies?The post 6 of the most exciting independent watches of Geneva Watch Week 2025 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
As the festivities come to a close, the T+T Team picks their favourites from the biggest release week of the year.The post Geneva Watch Week 2025: the Time+Tide team picks their favourite watches from Watches and Wonders (and beyond!) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Last week, midway through the watch industry’s biggest trade show, Donald Trump announced 31% tariffs on Swiss imports. The proposed tariffs, enacted as of this morning, immediately became the focus of many discussions in Geneva between brands, retailers, and the press, at Palexpo and beyond. The United States is the largest importer of Swiss watches in the world, so a new tariff of 31% on Swiss imports to the US has the potential to reshape not just the watch market in the United States, but the industry as a whole. The announcement could not have come at a more pressure packed time. The entire watch industry – retailers, brands, manufacturing partners, collectors, and executives – was gathered in Geneva last week, doing the business that normally shapes the arc of the year. As the news was absorbed on Thursday, we witnessed brands and retailers reacting in real time, changing or solidifying plans as appropriate. The inescapable nature of the topic in meetings meant to showcase new products underscored the seriousness of Trump’s announcement, and the potential implications. In seeking to understand the ramifications of the planned tariffs, we sought out an economist to help firm up our understanding of what the administration is seeking to accomplish. Brendan Cunningham is a professor of economics at Eastern Connecticut State University, and the author of Horolonomics, a website dedicated to “economic complications in watchmaking.” We started by defining o...
Monochrome
Unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2025, the 1816 Chronograph blends a modern integrated bracelet design with more traditional elements drawn from Louis Moinet‘s classic repertoire, in particular from the fascinating and remarkable Compteur de Tierces, one of the precursors of the modern chronograph. Powered by an appealing, traditional hand-wound chronograph movement, this new Louis Moinet […]
Worn & Wound
Last year, I had the privilege of sitting down with Benoit de Clerck to talk about all things Zenith. At the time, Benoit was just a few short months into his tenure as CEO of Zenith, and Watches & Wonders was only barely in the rearview, but de Clerck made it very clear that he was already looking ahead, not just generally, but towards something very specific, and very exciting. “I’m working hard on something new next year, which - obviously - I like, because it’s very unique, and we’re producing very small quantities and all that. And, I can’t tell you much more, but next year we’re celebrating our 160th year and we will come up with something that the collectors will be very, very, very happy with.” Well, now, nearly a year later, we know what that “something new” is, and de Clerck was absolutely right - because it is something to be very, very happy with. I’m talking, of course, about the new Zenith G.F.J. G.F.J., in this case, stands for Georges Favre-Jacot, the name of the man who founded Zenith some 160 years ago, but it might as well stand for ‘Great F***ing Job’ because Zenith has knocked it out of the park with this one. At the heart of the G.F.J. is a revived version of the calibre 135, a historically significant and long-dormant movement, designed by Ephrem Jobin in the years after World War II and produced from 1949 to 1962. The Calibre 135 was widely used by Zenith at that time, but especially prized is the 135-O variant created...
Fratello
As the Northern Hemisphere eagerly anticipates spring’s arrival, the watchmaking community’s attention turns to Geneva, where the prestigious Watches and Wonders fair will take place from April 1st to 7th, 2025. This year’s event promises to be the largest and most diverse gathering in its four-year history. A record 60 brands will be taking over […] Visit Watches And Wonders 2025: Geneva’s Grand Horological Showcase Is Here to read the full article.
Deployant
We are excited to be at Watches & Wonders 2025. Once again. We talk about what is new and happening next week in Geneva...and beyond.
SJX Watches
The spring auction season is getting underway with the first sale being Phillips’ The Geneva Sessions Spring 2025 taking place online until March 12. The online auction is a warm-up for the Geneva live auction taking place in May, but the 70-lot sale nonetheless includes several interesting timepieces, including some unusual examples from the “neo vintage” era. Essentially watches made in the 1990s to the early 2000s, such watches tend to be good value today; 30 years on they still sell for a fraction of the original retail price. One of the best known watches from the era, perhaps even iconic, is the Vacheron Constantin Mercator. A double retrograde with hands taking the form of a compass, the Mercator was introduced in 1994 and produced for a decade. A little over 600 were made with most of them having etched brass dials; less common were the examples with cloisonné enamel dials. The sale includes a Mercator with a map of Portugal dating to 2004, making it one of the final pieces made. Part of a limited edition of just ten watches, this example includes an achieve extract. The Mercator Portugal is lot 19 with an estimate of CHF25,000-50,000. The enamel dial of the Mercator Portugal One of the quirkiest watches in the sale is the Alain Silberstein Kronomedio Saphir. The French designer was the first to employ sapphire crystal for the watch case way back in 1997. An exceptionally expensive watch at the time, the sapphire chronograph illustrated Mr Silberstein’s av...
Deployant
Bovet's Miss Audrey “Bris de Verre” and the Virtuoso XI are two of its latest offerings to celebrate and commemorate everything for which Valentine’s Day stands.
Time+Tide
Digital watches are all well and good - and we love them! But if you want your kids to learn reading analogue time, start with these.The post The best analogue watches for kids that could turn them into future watch nerds appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Time on My Hands: A Collector’s Journey in a World of Watches. By Mitch Katz. Tasfil Publishing. US$24.99 in paperback, US$10.89 for e-book Thanks to the growing popularity of watch collecting, there is no shortage of books one can find about watches. Even mainstream bookstores often have a few in stock, while specialty bookstores across the world, from Powell’s in Portland, Oregon to Tsutaya in Daikanyama, Tokyo, have entire sections devoted to watch books. But the watch publishing industry is dominated by brand books, like MB&F;: The First Fifteen Years, that celebrate a particular brand or model. Perhaps because watch collecting is still a nascent hobby, there have not been many (if any) memoirs written about watch collecting. And while Time on My Hands by Mitch Katz is highly educational at times, it succeeds most as a personal story about one man’s long journey down the rabbit hole of watch collecting. Initial thoughts As hard as it is to find a book written by a fellow collector, it’s rarer still to find one that recounts events that formed the basis of one’s own watch education. I first became aware of Mr Katz in 2008 when I joined the Purists forum, which is also where I became acquainted with SJX. When I was at university, the forum served as my nightly reading, and the wisdom I gained reading Mr Katz’s posts, and those of fellow Purists, helped me get up to speed on the many nuances of the watch industry. In Time on My Hands, Mr Katz shares the ups and...
Fratello
I like a headline that gets straight to the point, and I think I nailed it with this one - no clickbait in sight. As is made exceedingly apparent, Delugs recently introduced four new patterns to its straight-end CTS (Cut-To-Size) rubber straps - Pilot, Mosaic, Waffle, and Tropic. Ken sent me one of each of […] Visit Delugs Expands Its Line Of CTS Rubber Straps With Four New Patterns - Pilot, Mosaic, Waffle, And Tropic to read the full article.
Fratello
Recent auctions in Geneva concluded with a relative bang. Eye-watering results occurred for some truly rare pieces. For many watches, though, the sales were solid but not awe-inspiring. I’ll kick off today’s article with my thoughts on the market, and then we’ll look at several lots. My colleague Lex recently penned an article about the […] Visit The November 2024 Geneva Auctions Retrospective - Highlights to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The fabled Breguet no. 160 “Marie Antoinette” (pictured above, image credit Baruch Coutts) was reputedly made for the last queen of France, but was so complicated that it took decades to complete, by which time the queen was long dead. Stolen in 1983 and then recovered in 2007, the legendary watch started by Abraham-Louis Breguet will be on display for the first time outside of the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art In Jerusalem since its recovery. From December 12, the Breguet “Marie Antoinette” will be on show at the Science Museum in London (which is also home to important George Daniels creations, including the unfinished watch and the Space Traveller II). The Breguet Marie Antoinette is part of Versailles: Science and Splendour, an exhibition dedicated to the scientific and technology discoveries related to the French royal court in the 17th and 18th centuries. The exhibition explores a 120-year span of scientific progress at Versailles, illustrating the scientific endeavours accomplished during the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. The mythical watch While the exhibition will include over 100 exhibits, watch enthusiasts will know the highlight is Breguet no. 160, the grand complication commissioned in 1783, by Marie Antoinette’s lover according to legend, hence its longstanding nickname. A no-expense-spared commission, watch no. 160 was only completed in 1827, having been delayed by A.-L. Breguet’s exile during the French Revolution. By the t...
SJX Watches
With the Geneva sales over, the auction season now moves to Hong Kong, where Phillips is staging a pair of sales: Toki, a theme sale dedicated to watches related to Japan, and the traditional The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XIX. Taking place over three days from November 22-24, the sales total 346 lots, including a notable line-up of metiers d’art timepieces decorated with artisanal techniques. They range from an enamelled Bulgari Serpenti to a Vacheron Constantin Les Masques quartet. We round up metiers d’art highlights from the two sales. The catalogues with online bidding for Toki and HKWA XIX. TOKI Lot 65 – Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts “Kimono” Ref. 5077P-097 Patek Philippe’s annual Rare Handcrafts offerings are often centred on several themes, and in 2013, resulting in several models with Japanese motifs, including this Calatrava ref. 5077P with a cloisonné enamel dial. The technique of enamelling is well known: a mixture of silica sand, metal oxides for colour, and oil is painted on a surface before being baked in an oven at temperatures exceeding 800°C. to melt the paste to form enamel. Cloisonné adds an additional layer of complexity by employing gold wires to form the motif, with the enamel painted into the cells form by the wires. Here the wires form a cherry blossom motif typical of traditional kimono fabric. According to Phillips, only four examples were produced with this dial, with the present watch being the first to emerge at auction. This wat...
SJX Watches
Perhaps the most surprising moment of the fall auction season in Geneva was when the hammer came down on an MoonSwatch at Christie’s for CHF69,300 including fees – exactly the same as a Rolex GMT-Master II “SARU” that sold later in the day. But as is almost always the case with record prices at auction, there was a story behind the price and a method to the madness. The MoonSwatch was the unique “millionth” example conceived specifically for this auction, where all proceeds went to ELA, a French medical charity. The ELA sale was spearheaded by Francois-Henri Pinault, the chief of Kering, the luxury conglomerate that owns Christie’s, and certainly one of the most influential people in the luxury goods business. Sitting in the room and opening the sale was Mr Pinault’s fellow trustee at ELA, Zinedine Zidane, the French footballer better known as Zizou who’s regarded as one of the all-time best players and coaches. Christie’s auctioneer Rahul Kadakia with Zizou. Image – Christie’s Bidding via phone, the winning bidder of the MoonSwatch – which sold for over 150 times the retail price – announced to the room via a Christie’s rep that his winning bid was for “ELA and Zizou”. It was clearly a statement that he or she would have paid up for whatever watch was on sale, regardless if it was plastic or precious metal. It was a good deed done that was no bearing on the MoonSwatch or watches in general. To the moon MoonSwatch aside, the season was pos...
Time+Tide
Thierry Stern gave a rather candid interview after the Cubitus launch and we wanted to pull out some of the key quotes. The post What Thierry Stern has to say after the Cubitus launch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend an event in London hosted by 289 Consulting. Roughly 25 brands attended, and we were free to sit in a casual, albeit dark, environment to view the newest watches. It was an enjoyable day with many highlights. A standout was the new Krayon Anywhere Arborea. Geneva […] Visit Introducing: The Krayon Anywhere Arborea Métiers D’Art 2024 to read the full article.
Fratello
On April 6th, 1609, the Englishman Henry Hudson set sail from Texel with a Dutch ship called De Halve Maen (The Half Moon). He was sent on a mission to find a passage to the Indies via Nova Zembla. However, Hudson ignored his contract and decided to seek a structural passage. Via the Faroe Islands, […] Visit Maen Goes Back To Its Roots With The All-New Lunar Classic 36 to read the full article.
Fratello
During Geneva Watch Days, Frederique Constant introduced two high-end models with impressive special dials. Only a few weeks later, the brand now unveils a series of three quartz moonphase models in the more affordable segment. This move highlights the wide variety of watches the brand offers. Usually, the mechanical side of things is more relevant […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Frederique Constant Classics Moneta Moonphase to read the full article.
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